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Saturday, July 20, 2013

Ethiopian migrants tell of torture and rape in Yemen

(July 18, 2013, (BBC))--Efta is just 17 but has experienced shocking brutality. The Ethiopian teenager survived a treacherous boat journey being smuggled across the Red Sea. But on reaching Yemen, she was kidnapped and driven at gunpoint to a mud brick house.

She said: "They tortured other girls in front of me. They beat us and they raped us at gunpoint. I was terrified." She is one of 80,000 Ethiopian migrants who undertake this dangerous journey every year. They hope they will find work in the wealthy Gulf state of Saudi Arabia and be able to send money home.

But they risk being exploited by criminal gangs and the Yemeni military in the 500 km (310 miles) trek across Yemen to the Saudi border.'Raped and burned'
Efta was held at what is known as a "torture camp" for three months. She was too ashamed to ask her parents for money to set her free so she was raped every day. Once it became clear that no ransom was going to be paid and after Efta fell ill, she was thrown out on the street. Read more from BBC »